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Above: Footbridge in Ducerf premium oak
“The last two years have been extraordinary, with annual growth of 30%,” said Marie-Thérèse Carrey of Saint-Lothain- based oak and beech specialist Eurochêne. “The first few months of 2023 saw a drop in sales of around 10%, but it looks as though we’re returning to a pre-Covid pace, which seems perfectly logical.”
The experience of Monniot of Brienne-le- Château was similar, reported export sales manager Guillaume Manière. “The market was very demanding throughout 2021 and 2022 and we had a strong first quarter in 2023,” he said. “Since April this year we’ve seen a lower end slowdown, but overall business is still ok.” Mathieu Berthe of Estissac-based Tarteret reports that UK sales started to dip in September last year in terms of volumes. “But this was in comparison with 2021 into 2022 when they were exceptional, especially for beams and boules,” he said. “Growth in exports generally has slowed, but France remains a good market, notably for boules.” His comments were echoed by Mr Manière. “Although UK demand is down on 2022, all our products continue to sell well there, including boules, beams and sleepers,” he said. “Overall, the French market also remains good. Some markets, like flooring are down, but in others, such as barrel staves, demand is still strong.”
Such have been order levels at Ducerf of
Vendenesse-Lès-Charolles over the last two years there have been times when it has prioritised its long-established customers, said import-export manager Florence Perrucaud. “We can take on new customers, but given stock levels we have had to focus on taking care of loyal customers,” she said.
She agreed there had been some levelling of demand more recently.
“The UK has maybe slowed down a little for oak, due to less construction activity,” she said. “But, while this year some months have been average, others have been good and we are on budget. Slowdown has also been more in lower grades. Better qualities are still selling well.” The task now, added Ms Perrucaud, was to return stocks to normal levels.
“Over the last two years, hardwood mills did perhaps sell too much of their stock,” she said. “To get back to normal levels in 27mm material the process will take a year, two years in 50mm.”
A supply issue faced by hardwood mills, she maintained, was that there is less quality coming out of the French forest. That, combined with high consumption in the barrels sector, is underpinning log prices. In recent years exports of logs, notably oak, to China has created some raw material supply stress for the French industry and led to calls for some form of controls. A government response was to stipulate that a proportion of state forest logs must be further processed within the EU. It is unclear what impact this had, but recent easing of Chinese demand is attributed more to economic slowdown and mills expect this to be a temporary reprieve. “Asian markets have suffered greatly from Covid and high freight costs,” said Ms Carrey. “China, with its zero-Covid policy, seems to be finding it harder to get going again. But it seems they are starting to buy new oak logs for the autumn.”
“They will increase buying again,” agreed Ms Perrucaud. “We also see the market
changing, with Chinese importers buying to satisfy wood products demand in their domestic market rather than for manufacture of export goods.”
Mr Manière took a similar perspective. “Log exports to China have reduced in the first half of 2023, but we expect them to bounce back in September,” he said. “And this will continue to be an issue as long as the EU does not put restrictions in place. [In addition] since Russia banned log exports in 2022, Europe and France in particular have become the main source of logs for Chinese sawmills.” At the same time, he added, Monniot has continued to diversify its own export business and widen its geographic reach. “While China has been quieter, for us, India and Vietnam have been active. Several new markets have also opened for us in eastern Europe. This is mostly due to the Ukraine situation, but we also see it as a longer term trend.”
At the beginning of 2022, France introduced its new RE2020 regulation as part of its strategy to decarbonise construction. This includes measures to increase use of bio-based materials in building, including timber. The consensus is that this will mainly benefit the softwood sector, but it’s seen as having potential to drive wood consumption overall.
“The drive for softwood in construction should promote wood use generally,” said Mr Manière. Ms Perrucaud agreed. “We’re seeing RE2020’s effects already, with some authorities prompted to go further and prohibit use of uPVC windows for instance,” she said. “We think it will benefit the whole wood sector.” ►
www.ttjonline.com | July/August 2023 | TTJ
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